The New Face of Community College
Yes? Me too!
As a proud graduate of San Mateo Community College I sometimes find it offensive that the media and pop culture continually bash community colleges and so does AccreditedOnlineColleges.com.
According to the authors of "The New Face of Community College," enrollment is exploding at community colleges for a variety of reasons including cost and quality of education.
Community colleges boast some of the best faculty and state of the art facilities offering an education at a price that is easier on the wallet than most four-year institutions.
What do today's community colleges have to offer?
>Partnerships with local businesses.
>Training for high-demand but specialized jobs.
>Lower tuition costs.
>Help for the middle class.
>Many of the same amenities as four-year colleges.
>A cheaper path to a four-year degree.
>An increasingly diverse student body.
But there are still some problems with community colleges. Open admissions leads to an underprepared student body and lower retention rates. Those of you trying to sign up for classes know what a scramble it can be to get those required courses.
For those of you attending community college your first two years could cost you less (thereby reducing or avoiding student loan debt) and take you just as far in your overall college plan.
So why did you choose community college?
I chose a community college to help me figure out what I want to major and to save money. It is a lot of pressure to try and figure out what I want to do for the majority of my life. I hope I find what I want and succeed in it. What is also great about the community college i go to is the commute is less than 10 minutes and very convenient. Money is very tight nowadays and saving as much as I can is a goal and figuring out what career that is beneficial to me.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I chose community college was to save money and have time to think what i want for my major. Community colleges are very diverse and you get to meet lots of people. The level of education is also not so different from university and you get to choose whatever course you want. Most of your credits transfer and its easy road down to get an admission into a university. What is also great about my college is that its very close to my home and its very convenient. Not to mention, less fees also motivated me for going to college. Its really hard to earn money these days and community colleges saves large amount of your money.
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ReplyDeleteI contemplated for a long time whether I should attend a nearby community college or attend a 4-year CSU. I ended up choosing to go to a community college, due to the outweighing list of pros than cons. Community colleges are extremely cheaper than attending a CSU for basically the same education for the first 2 years (or so I've heard). I was glad that I actually got into different colleges, but I really did not want to limit myself, so I thought it would be a smarter decision to work hard at a community college and transfer into a school that will meet my potential. Overall, it sucks that I am stuck at home, but I am very glad I made the smart decision to work hard at a community college for a couple of years.
ReplyDeleteWhen I graguated from high school I knew that I was not prepared to go to college. I didn't get the best grades in High school so I never bothered to apply for college. I tried DVC(community college), a few times but as the blog says I was one of those people that knew I wasn't ready and would end up dropping my classes. Now that I am enrolled in community college again (at an older age) I have chosen community college for many reasons. First the price, it is very affordable for me to go to community college without breaking the bank. Also it is close to my home (30 minute walk). I like that I can get all of my general education classes out of the way before going to a University. I also enjoy that community colleges offer so many diffrent kind of classes. I feel as though i can try taking a human sexuality class, a film class, and a humanities class all at the same time to see what sparks my interest.
ReplyDeleteI know that for now DVC is just a stepping stone on my way to a nother school and eventually a career.
My dream was always to attend a four year college in southern California. Towards the end of my junior year and during my senior year I began to think about how I would perform at a university. I came to the conclusion that I was not ready for the amount of work and the difficulty level of the work at a university. Going to a community college would prepare me for the upcoming university level work, because clearly I was not ready for college based on my placement scores. I mean, I managed to keep up and over a 3.3 grade point average. I am also glad I decided to attend a community college, because I would save a huge amount of money for the same amount of education.
ReplyDeleteI chose to attend a community college because of the cost compared to going straight to a four year. I pay for my own tuition without the assistance from my parents, so having a part-time job and going to school full-time is tough, but knowing that I paid for my tuition all by myself, I ultimately know it'll feel good in the end. The hard work pays off. Secondly, It has also giving me more time to think about and permanently choose a specific major that I will be interested in. These were the two main reasons why I chose to go to a community college. There is absolutely nothing wrong attending a Community College after High School. Money is always the issue but a Community College can save you by continuing your education after High School.
ReplyDeleteI chose to attend community college because I really wasn't sure what career I wanted to take on. I figured it would be smarter to go to a community college instead of shelling out thousands of dollars at a university where my career path would still be undecided. It just seemed like a huge waste of money for me to wander at a university trying to find a career. Being at a community college allowed me to explore my options more instead of committing myself to a career, it gave me time to knock out some general ed classes before signing up for major-based classes. Some of the classes are also the same ones offered at universities but are only a fraction of a cost and that has really helped students financially. I feel like it has been a better choice for me cause I have actually saved a lot of money. It has also allowed me to maintain a job and stay local and close to my family.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started looking at colleges, I didn't think about going to community college because I felt like I could do better, but now that I think about it, I should've gone. It is much cheaper, but I just wanted to get out of the house so bad. There is always a community college near home so you don't have to move out or miss mom's home cooked meals all the time. Community colleges may seem like you aren't good enough and couldn't get into a university or state college, but in all honesty, community college has all the basics that any other college would have. If you are going to be a high school graduate soon, don't just look at 4-year universities and state colleges, look at community colleges also because they can help you save a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was looking at colleges to attend I was looking for the cheapest around. Community colleges were the first colleges I looked at because they are not only a cheaper way to go than to a four-year school, like CSUEB, but community colleges have many of the same things as four-year colleges. Community colleges are also local and I wasn't ready to move out. I ended up going to CSUEB and haven't attended a community college but I don't regret the decision. I am fortunate to have my parents able to cover the bill, so that I can experience all the extras at a State school like dorming. If I had to pay by myself I would go to a community college because its cheaper and I have heard you get the same quality teachers at a jc as a state.
ReplyDeleteIn my senior year of high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life at all. I applied to many universities, and even got into some, but I knew that my parents were not going to help me pay for all of my expenses. Since I had never had a job, and knew that I wouldn't get one the day I moved into the college dorms. So I decided to stay home. I had heard stories about how difficult it is to get classes at the community college, so I was a little worried about it, but ultimately I lucked out and got all the classes I needed and was able to finish my AA in two years. Having experienced both community college classes and university classes, I feel that the community college courses were no more difficult or easier than university courses. Also, the cheaper tuition was a big plus for me. While I did have to stay with my family for two more years, I didn't really mind. Ultimately, community colleges are not a bad choice for any student.
ReplyDeleteDuring my senior year of high school, I did not apply to any community colleges because I had a plan of becoming a nurse and the CSUs I applied to had programs for nursing. I did not want to attend a community college because most of my high school classmates were planning on attending the local community colleges and they weren't the best students. However, community college isn't a bad decision. It is cheaper way for education compared to CSUs and universities. Also, community colleges offers a variety of classes that students may use to explore their interests. Attending a community college is not a horrible choice for a future college student to make.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the show Community. But it doesnt really capture the complete aspect of community college. I have many friends who chose community colleges over 4 year universities, and sometimes I think they were smarter in that. Community colleges are a cheaper and more convinent way to knock out ge than spending thousands of dollars.
ReplyDeleteIn my senior year of high school I didn’t even bothered applying to a community college. I always thought that a community college wasn’t good for me, and I decide to apply to CSUEB, and go there. In addition, in my second year of college I decide to attend to a community college for the reason that I decide to choose a community college in my second year is because tuition went up in CSUEB and to help me out to save some money I decide to attend to a community college. The reason that I choose community college is because tuition is way cheaper than University College. It really help me a lot in my second year of college I save enough money, and I would continue going to a community college when is summer time to get some class and transfer to CSUEB. It is a good choice to attend to a community college.
ReplyDeleteIn high school i never about applying to a state school. It never even crossed my mind. I knew that i always was going to go to a community college right out of high school.i just couldnt see myself at a big state school fresh out of high school. it was too much of a jump that i wasnt ready to take at the time.(and im still not ready) i was an average student in high school. i knew that college would be way harder then high school and i wasnt ready. Im also the kind of person who is really hard on themselves. another reason i didnt apply to a state school was because i was scared of getting rejected.
ReplyDeleteFor my freshman year of college, I was originally supposed to attend San Francisco State University. I even attended the orientation and had signed up for classes. As I had much anticipation attending this school as a film major, I changed my mind last-minute and registered for Diablo Valley College. Why? If I was truly honest with myself back then, I wasn't prepared for college at all. I was disorganized, I didn't have housing close to campus, and I had a scattered, unplanned schedule. However, being at DVC made me realize how many benefits I had by choosing community college. I was saving my parents tons of money, and most significantly, it gave me more time to decide what I really wanted to do for a living - be a music teacher & an actor.
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